


forever stuck in our youth

by iluvafjk



Series: [WIP] Sheith Actor/Artist AU [2]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Actor Shiro, Alternate Universe - College/University, Artist Keith, Established Relationship, M/M, Slice of Life
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-19
Updated: 2017-10-19
Packaged: 2019-01-19 20:10:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,387
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12417264
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/iluvafjk/pseuds/iluvafjk
Summary: Sheith Actor/Artist AU, flashback to their university days.





	forever stuck in our youth

**Author's Note:**

> i know nothing about art school and drawing, i apologise in advance to all artist friends here for inaccuracies/anything weird. do let me know if something is outrageously weird and i'll appreciate any advice to fix it.
> 
> title comes from one of Set It Off's [songs](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e_ckotr2U30). check them out, their music is awesome.

_I’m finally home. Taking a nap. Wake me up when you’re back_

Keith had to practically drag himself back to his dorm room after an entire day of fieldwork practice. Throughout the afternoon - which later on bled into dusk and then late evening - he kept reminding himself why he took a senior-level class in his penultimate year (because he wanted to get the hell out of college as soon as he possibly could) and _this class_ in particular (because it would be good for his portfolio and Professor Iverson had sneered about how he could never do well for a charcoal class - it was a brazen challenge if Keith’d ever heard one and he, for one, had never backed down from a challenge, much to Shiro’s amusement, occasional worry, and affectionate pride). The thought of returning to an empty room vs holing up in the dreary studio compelled him to go with the “better” 3rd option to take part in this day-long off-campus trip with about half of his classmates. At least he figured out a more refined method to handle charcoal drawings now, Keith thought rather begrudgingly.

Really, if Shiro hadn’t committed himself to a 3-day training camp to prepare for his final year play - the last day of which coincided with Keith’s earlier off-campus fieldwork - it would have been a strikingly different picture. Keith wouldn’t have needed to stomp his way out to board the cramped bus full of hipsters (“Pot, meet kettle,” Lance had deadpanned when Keith had complained about it. Shiro had found it amusing) into the wilderness to find _organic charcoal_ (“It’s one-hundred percent carbon. How much more organic can a charcoal be?!” Keith had grumbled into Shiro’s shoulder the night before Shiro left for his camp) that was dubbed to be the best for drawing. Keith would’ve skipped this session, opted to go for a more reasonable and comfortable classic practice in the studio - as dreary as it was getting more and more lately - but wholly accompanied by his actor-to-be boyfriend who was more than happy to sit cosily next to Keith, watching him test out all the different possible strokes and shading while Shiro memorised his lines, quietly mumbling the dialogues with a worn script in hand or occasionally pacing around the room and trying out various ways to portray an emotion or action. Or even better, they could have just cuddled in bed in their shared dorm room.

That was exactly what he now envisioned them to be doing in about ten more minutes, when he finally made it back home with aching feet and tired arms. Shiro was already back, as his latest text indicated. That was about an hour ago, when Keith was packing up to return to the college ground. Now, in his mind was nothing but the vague concept of “hunger” and a much clearer concept of “needing to cuddle with my boyfriend whom I haven’t seen in three long days”.

When he _finally_ arrived, he found the room to be dark and quiet, save for a soft snore coming from under the covers. He immediately dropped his backpack and kicked his shoes off, climbing into bed and wanting nothing other than joining Shiro into a deep, long slumber.

As Keith found Shiro’s body under their blanket, Shiro sucked in a muffled breath and stirred.

“Keith…?”

Keith responded by groaning and burying his face into the back of Shiro’s neck.

Shiro huffed lethargically, searching blindly for Keith’s arm with his eyes still closed and when he located it, tugging it around the front of his chest and interlacing their fingers together.

“God, I missed you,” Shiro sighed, letting Keith spoon him snugly from behind.

“Never go on training camps anymore,” Keith muttered bitterly, already half-asleep now that he had Shiro’s warm body in his arms. “The past three days were torture.”

“I know,” Shiro moaned, pulling on Keith’s arm to tighten the hold around him, “I think I couldn’t concentrate anymore earlier today. I just wanted to see you so badly.”

Keith sighed, placing a sleepy kiss on Shiro’s nape in agreement. He tangled their legs together to secure his hold on his big, very comfortable boyfriend. Both of them didn’t say anything for a while, and Keith was sure he was two seconds away from falling fast asleep if his stomach hadn’t chosen to growl remarkably loudly right then.

He only had enough energy to scowl, but Shiro - always so keenly tuned to attend to Keith’s smallest needs by instinct - naturally had to fix the problem right away.

“You didn’t have dinner,” he stated, slightly accusatory but Keith really didn’t have a single ounce of power to deny the, well, fact. Shiro started to leave their warm, comfortable burrow, disentangling himself from Keith, who only then found it in him to whine forlornly.

“Stay, Shiro,” Keith pleaded, although he knew it was futile. Nothing would stop Shiro from ensuring Keith was well-fed, well-rested, and all-around well-cared for.

It was why Keith cherished him so very much.

Shiro sat upright on their bed, only halfway extricated from Keith’s hold. “At least a glass of warm milk. Do you have enough energy for a quick sandwich or something?”

Keith reached up to grab onto Shiro’s shirt, and instead Shiro took his hand and gave it a gentle kiss. Keith closed his grip with as much pressure as he could muster, holding onto Shiro’s large, warm hand.

“Mm. Warm chocolate?”

“Okay,” Shiro leaned down to kiss Keith’s temple. Keith turned his head slightly, opening his eyes just a tiny bit to find Shiro smiling tenderly at him and brushing his cheek softly with his other hand. Keith pursed his lips - he could hear Shiro chuckle somewhere above him and Shiro’s lips met his for a quick peck.

“I’ll get you your drink,” Shiro informed, before he released his hold of Keith and left the bed. Keith voiced his regret with another low whine and snuggled as best as he could against the warmth that Shiro left behind under the covers. After what felt like barely five seconds, Keith started awake when their bed dipped.

“Chocolate’s here,” Shiro crooned gently, stroking Keith’s hair to wake him up. Keith sighed deeply before turning around and looked up at Shiro from beneath the blanket.

Shiro smiled at him, bowing down to press a kiss to his forehead, holding onto a mug of what Keith could smell was his favourite brand of hot chocolate in his hand.

Shiro pulled back, still smiling. “Come on, finish this cup and let’s go back to sleep, yeah?”

Keith pushed the blanket aside, and extended both arms towards Shiro as a request. Shiro looked at him for one second and laughed. Keith smiled at the sound and sight. Still holding the mug securely, Shiro leaned down and slipped a hand below Keith’s shoulders. Keith circled his extended arms around Shiro’s neck, and Shiro heaved him up in an embrace into sitting position.

“Shiro,” Keith whispered, not letting go of Shiro yet. He leaned closer and felt Shiro nipping at his neck. Keith breathed in Shiro’s scent, thinking about how much he had missed it the last several days. Shiro rested his head against the side of Keith’s quietly, rubbing his thumb on Keith’s back.

Keith pulled away, prompting Shiro to do the same, but didn’t let go. He gazed into Shiro’s eyes for one, two seconds, before closing his eyes and leaning in for a kiss.

They kissed softly, pressing into the embrace and sighing contentedly in-between kisses. Keith tangled his fingers in Shiro’s short hair and let out a sleepy, satisfied moan - before his stomach interrupted the second time with a low rumbly growl.

Shiro chuckled against Keith’s lips and Keith couldn’t help but smile despite his body’s betrayal. He kept Shiro from pulling back for another second to press one more kiss, and then let go.

He gratefully picked the mug from Shiro’s hand and gulped down the tasty, warm chocolate in less than a minute. When he was done, he wiped his lips with the tissue from the bedside table and placed the mug there.

“Now that I’m fed, we’re not getting out of this bed until tomorrow afternoon at the earliest, Takashi Shirogane. Now get back in here and cuddle me.”

**Author's Note:**

> i was halfway through writing the fic that follows directly to the previous one i've published but was stuck. in the end i kinda forced myself to write this just so i could stop kicking myself over not being able to write anything new for this AU. anyway i've always been a sucker for slice of life/domesticity/established relationships - hope you guys enjoyed and i'd love to hear your thoughts.
> 
> PS. i'd be much obliged if you'd check out the other fic published under this series - that one's the "present" timeline while this is a flashback, somewhat. i have the entire universe in my head, i just need to force myself to write them all down. which is the hardest part.


End file.
